League of Legends' upcoming champion Nilah receives first nerf in PBE, Formless Blade's (Q) attack speed reduced 

Nilah's attack speed for her Q ability has been nerfed drastically (Image via League of Legends)
Nilah's attack speed for her Q ability has been nerfed drastically (Image via League of Legends)

Nilah, League of Legends' brand new melee botlaner, has been out on the PBE (Public Beta Environment) for only two days now. However, it seems she was so powerful that the developers decided to nerf her already.

Apparently, Nilah's Q ability called Formless Blade got its attack speed nerfed. It is is extremely powerful and is one of the key facets that makes Nilah a powerhouse of a character.

However, even though she got her first nerf, it seems League of Legends fans are still not happy as they feel she needs a lot more change to be balanced. In any case, the details regarding Nilah's nerfs have been presented in the article below.


Passive armor penetration with Nilah's Q ability makes her overpowered in League of Legends

Before moving on with the analysis, it is first important to provide the exact nerf that Nilah has received. As mentioned earlier, her Q ability got its attack speed reduced. The exact number on the same has been provided below:

  • Q attack speed reduced from 20%-76.1% to 15%-65%

Thus, as it turns out, the nerf is quite substantial. However, it is also vital to understand the reason behind this nerf. Firstly, it is crucial to keep in mind that Nilah's Q ability comes with passive armor penetration.

This is extremely vital in a meta where every champion is quite durable on account of the changes that were brought forth after patch 12.10. Apart from that, once players start stacking items, the ability further feels broken.

However, the strength of the ability does not end here as the passive from her Q also heals her, and in case of overhealing, gives her a shield. Lastly, she also deals massive physical damage that can absolutely destroy enemies within a very short duration.

Thus, it is safe to say that when a champion with this powerful a kit gets attack speed scaling, it will become a nightmare in a fight. If tanks get shredded in a meta that is supposed to have extended teamfights, then Nilah will sort of become an automatic win in any given situation.

This is something that cannot happen as League of Legends already has history with overtuned champions like Aphelios, Pantheon, and others. Hence, Riot Games will definitely look to balance her as much as possible before releasing her on official servers.

Quick Links